ESL One Hamburg 2018 returns for the second time around on October later this year. This time, ESL One has learned their lesson, doubling down on the number of teams who will converge in Barclaycard Arena, Hamburg,

The Barclaycard Arena first played host to eight of the world’s best Dota 2 teams earlier this year at ESL One Hamburg 2017. Virtus.Pro ultimately ended up taking home the trophy at the said tournament after sweeping Team Secret in the Grand Finals. Their efforts put them on top of the season leaderboards, a position they have maintained for most of the year.

Virtus.Pro’s team captain and position five support player, Alexei ‘Solo‘ Berezin, also took home MVP honours at the tournament. The longtime Dota 2 veteran was awarded a brand-new Mercedez E400 courtesy of one of the tournament’s organizers, the German auto manufacturer, Mercedes Benz.

ESL One Hamburg 2018 Ups the Ante

Scheduled as the first Major of the newly announced Dota Pro Circuit, ESL One Hamburg 2017 was subject to much criticism. For starters, many complained that the run was too short, while others complained about the lack of teams and the format. Although in hindsight, it was probably foolish to expect any of the Pro Circuit Majors to live up to the previous Valve-run Majors.

Nevertheless, other tournament organizers have since learned from this. This includes ESL themselves.

Since Hamburg, ESL has expanded the number of teams in their Pro Circuit tournaments. ESL One Genting 2018, a Minor, had sixteen Dota 2 teams. So did ESL One Katowice 2018, ESL’s second Major of the 2017-18 Pro Circuit. Meanwhile, ESL One Birmingham 2018, ESL’s last Major and the penultimate tournament of the season, will feature twelve Dota 2 teams.

For interested parties, tickets for ESL One Hamburg 2018 will go on sale as soon as May 7 at 3:00 PM CEST. Ticket costs will range from €9 for weekend tickets to €299 for the premium tickets.

There are no details as of yet regarding the prize pool for ESL One Hamburg 2018 or if it will be a part of the 2018-19 Pro Circuit.

Is ESL One Hamburg 2018 going to be the first Major of the 2018-19 Pro Circuit? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.

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